There are many places where our Federal Government needs to start privatization. There have been many well documented ideas, and I support all. *source Below is a list in no particular order.
National Parks/US Forest Service
Sell off all of the National Parks to businesses or to the States. This will not only gain revenue to pay back the social programs, it will also reduce the expenses in the budget. Businesses can run the parks much more efficiently then the government does and has access to capital for improvements and maintenance. Additionally, without the parks being run by the federal government, there would be no need for the US Forest Service, which would be liquidated…again raising revenue.
United States Postal Service (USPS)
Sell off the USPS. The USPS is a business that would generate a substantial amount of revenue, while also removing the expenses from the budget. When the first postal service started in 1692, this was the only way to get letters and packages from one place to another. FedEx and UPS and the many other shipping companies do a fine job at that and there would be many suitors for this purchase.
Bureau of Land Management Land (BLM)
Sell all BLM land. The BLM controls 247.3 million acres of land in 12 western states. There is no need for the government to control that much land. There are many suitors that would jump at the opportunity to purchase BLM land, from businesses to individuals, this could generate a substantial amount of revenue.
Lending Programs (Student Loans/Home Loans/Business Loans)
The federal government should not be in the lending business. Banks are available for that, and guarantees, only increase debt and risk additional expenses. By selling all the Student Loans, Home loans that are backed by the government (including USDA loans), and all Small Business Loans (SBA Loans) and any other lending that the government is holding the note; we would gain revenue as well removing ourselves from future expenses. Additionally, the administrative expenses of managing the programs would also be removed from the budget.
Department of Education and other departments
The federal department of education is an expense of nearly $70 billion that can be eliminated from the books. Education can and should be managed by the states. Many other departments like the Commerce, Energy, IRS, EPA can be reduced significantly (50-90%) reducing expenses even more.
Foreign Military
There are two options for overseas military bases. One option would be to charge a premium for the services provided (21.5%) to the foreign governments annually, which would go to cover domestic military expense. If the foreign governments balked at that idea, then the second option is to sell off the base to the local governments. Some countries may prefer the second, while others the first and it would need to be reviewed on a case by case basis for what would help keep our country safe.
Department of Transportation/Fuel Tax/Aviation Fuel Tax
The federal department of transportation generates a significant amount of revenue from the fuel tax, however, it can be better managed on the State level. The fuel tax of $0.184 for gasoline, and $.244 for diesel should be combined into one fuel tax rate and added to the state tax. The States would be in charge of maintaining their roads and would need to work with other states for multi-state projects. The federal aviation fuel tax would need to be administered locally by each airport, so larger airports would be collecting a larger amount of revenue to balance their budgets.
Airports/Trains
The government can not manage the airports or trains (like Amtrak) effectively, and as such should be sold. Most airports are owned and managed by the counties, so the revenues would go to them. Those buying the airports would most likely be the airlines and rental car companies. Unfortunately, there would probably still be a need for a small Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to oversee that the airports are being kept safe.
Buildings
Another unseen source of revenue will be the buildings that the government owns. From the departments that are closing the buildings will be a good source of revenue. In other buildings it probably makes more sense to sell the building and then lease it back so that as the government changes the expense to taxpayers would be minimal.
Education Format
Education on every level needs to be reformed. In the state section we discussed how all state universities and colleges would be sold (privatized). For elementary and secondary education that is more difficult. Charter schools have been growing and provide a great opportunity for students. For those not able to go to Charter schools, the local schools are a good alternative.
The major change needed for reform in education is the education format, both physically and the teaching. Physically, there is no need for physical schools. The learning can be done through tablet devices given to the students. All of the content for classes including tests and homework can be created and managed electronically. Lectures can be done by each county selecting the top educator in each subject for each subject and class level. Then the video lectures can be viewed by the students on their tablet device where they do their homework. The homework can be graded immediately. This encourages students to work together in study groups and learn at the pace that they are able. Those that are top performers will be able to move through maybe 2 grades in a single year. The testing can be managed through the tablet for many grades and for high school it would probably be better for tests to be managed by a business testing center.
The benefits of moving to this type of an education format, you are able to let kids learn and free up their time that is mostly wasted when they go to school. This would also provide more time for those in athletics to have time for their practices.